They have always given us chartbusters and we have enjoyed their songs and concerts across the world. The singers portrayed here have a million plus fan following worldwide and could well be described as among the most iconic singers of their time. These are our pop stars who we all love to follow be it for their music or for their colorful lives that puts them constantly in the news. But!! There was a time these pop stars were ordinary people like you and me, they went to school, on dates, had haircuts like us and looked like your everyday boy or girl next door. Take a look at 10 rare photos of stars before becoming famous.
As cute as she looks now, Beyonce looked just as good when she was a teenager. She was born Beyonce Gisele Knowles to a hairdresser and a copier salesman. Her talent was recognized at a young age when she was a soloist at the St John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. She attended the High school for performing and visual arts and as early as eight was part of a girl band named “Girls Tyme” along with childhood friend Kelly Rowland.
The group worked the talent circuit in Houston. By the time she was 15, the group was signed on to perform under the label of Sony Entertainment after which they changed the name to “: Destiny’s Child”. The rest is history.
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Gwen Stefani is portrayed here as a natural blonde which she always was. Stefani had a normal childhood raised in a Catholic family in Anaheim, California. Her music career got off to a head start because of her Brother a musician who invited her to try out as a vocalist for his band “No Doubt” in 1996 when she was seventeen years old. The single” Don’t Speak” topped the charts and for Gwen, there was no looking back. Stefani has won several music awards throughout her career including a Grammy and an American music award.
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Adam Noah Levine came from a humble family in Los Angeles. The star vocalist of the group Maroon 5 credits his Mom as the inspiring figure in his life who set him upon his musical journey. After a commercial failure with his first group Kara’s flowers, Levine dropped out of higher studies and formed Maroon 5 with Jesse Carmichael, Ryan Dusick, James Valentine and Mickey Madden in 2002. BY 2005, the group had won their first Grammy for best new artist and another the year after for the single “This Love”.
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In this photo, Britney Spears looks just like your girl next door but with some pretty good looks. Britney was raised in Kentwood Louisiana and began attending dancing lessons at the age of 3. Although she auditioned for the Mickey Mouse club when she was 8, she was rejected but was noticed by New York talent agent Nancy Carson who enrolled her in the Professional Performing arts school.
In 1992 she was finally accepted in the Mickey Mouse club alongside Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. By 1999, Spears debut album “Baby One More Time” topped the Billboard charts and became the highest selling album by a teenage artist.
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Among photos of stars before being famous, you can see a very ordinary looking Shakira and it’s difficult to think that it’s the same diva of music. Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was raised in Barranquilla, Colombia and began writing poetry at the age of four. At a surprise performance for Sony Colombia executives, she impressed them enough to sign her on for her first album “magia” when she was 13 years old. As a Latin American performing artist, she had already won two Grammy’s before release her first English album “laundry Service” with the hit single “whenever wherever”. The album went triple platinum selling 20 million copies worldwide.
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Amy Lee is a rock star in the true sense of the word. She was born Amy Lee Hartzler and raised in Riverside California. After graduating from Pulaski Academy high school in Little Rock, she dropped out of Tennessee State University to concentrate on Evanescence which she founded with Ben Moody whom she met at a youth camp. With Evanescence, Lee tasted success with the album “Fallen” that included the hit single “My Immortal” which was one of her first songs she had written. Lee was awarded the Rock Goddess of the year at the Loudwire Music Awards in 2102.
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The transformation is evident and now Katy is known for her stunning looks and mass appeal. Katy Perry was raised in Santa Barbra, California where both her parents were Pentecostal pastors. Katy’s signing career began as a gospel singer when she had a tough and frugal childhood. Her family relied a lot on food stamps to purchase groceries and they frequently ate at the food bank meant for the church congregation where her parents worked.
After a brief struggle with her music career and being dropped by Colombia, Perry tasted success after joining capitol records with the single “I kissed a girl” in 2008.It sold 7 million copies worldwide topping the charts in several countries.
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Celine Dion was born into a humble but poor family from Charlemagne, Quebec. Celine and her siblings would perform at her parents little piano bar when she was young. Fortune smiled on her at the age of 12 when her brother recorded her singing a "Ce n'était qu'un rêve," that means ‘nothing but a dream” which she had co-written and composed with her mother and brother. It was sent to Rene Angelili, a music manager at the time who even mortgaged his home to launch her singing career. Angelilli incidentally went on to become Celine’s Husband. Her first record “La voix du bon Dieu made her an instant star.
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Kylie Minogue is no stranger to showbiz and has been performing ever since she was a child. A regular feature in the hit show Young Talent time in Australia along with Sister Danii Minogue, Kylie first tasted success after appearing in the Television Show, Neighbors alongside Jason Donovan. Kylie’s phenomenal singing skills and dancing has earned her the title of the “Princess of Pop” and is the highest selling Australian artist of all time. By 2015 at 47 she has had worldwide record sales in excess of 80 million worldwide. In short, the girl next door is still a superstar.
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The son of iconic singer Julio Iglesias whose voice could make hearts melt, Julio Iglesias is melting hearts with his looks. As one of the photos of stars before they were famous, this photo was taken when he was 10 years old. Regarded as the “king of Latin Pop”, Enrique was raised in Madrid Spain and subsequently in Miami, Florida. He recorded his first album in Toronto under the name of Enrique Martinez because he didn’t want his Father’s name to influence his career. After a successful singing career in Spanish, he tasted success with his crossover album with the single.
After a successful singing career in Spanish, he tasted success with his crossover album with the single Bailamos becoming an instant hit. He went on to record hits like Rhythm Divine and Be with you that became his second hit single on the Billboard charts.
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